Drain
by Rose Thorne
Summary: When Zelgadis is bitten by a vampire and decides that he's going to seal himself away to starve, Xellos is the one who finds him. Xellos/Zelgadis.


**Drain**

by Rose Thorne

Disclaimer: _Slayers_ is owned by a bunch of folks who aren't me. I'm borrowing them for my perverse pleasure, much as Xellos borrows emotions for his.

* * *

Xellos could feel it. Zelgadis' demon third calling out, as it had not been capable since the Red Priest had used it in his spell. It was like a beacon, making his search that much easier.

Lina had come to him—how she had found him, he had no idea, but she had—with a nearly incomprehensible tale. It was clear she hadn't slept much, but from what he had gathered, Zelgadis had been bitten by a vampire several months before, and had disappeared.

He hadn't believed her story, not really.

After all, the chimera had _stone skin_. How likely was it that a vampire would do anything but break its fangs?

But with the way Zelgadis' demon third was calling to him, the _hunger_ in its call…

Something had indeed happened, perhaps as a result of the vampire's bite, and Xellos very much doubted it was anything good.

It was little wonder Lina hadn't been able to find Zelgadis; the shaman was nothing if not thorough in whatever he chose to do, and he had ensured he disappeared in all possible ways.

He had surrounded the cave he had shut himself into with wards meant to keep people away and keep him in—even remembering to ward from the locating magic of priestesses. Truthfully, if it had not been for the calls of his starving demon third, Xellos would have been hard pressed to find him.

And the one thing Zelgadis had forgotten was a ward against him; or, more likely, he hadn't found any powerful enough and had assumed Xellos wouldn't be bothered with him.

The implications of the fact that Xellos _was_ bothered with him were something to explore later.

For now, Xellos let his form manifest in the cave in which Zelgadis had evidently chosen to die, circumventing the wards easily.

His sight needed no time to adjust, and he found Zelgadis immediately where he lay curled in on himself against the wall of the cave. He looked terrible, like he hadn't eaten or slept in far too long—though if he had truly been bitten by a vampire, the starvation could be an issue separate from food.

Xellos noticed charred patches on the skin of Zel's face, and frowned.

Vampire curses were complex in nature. A need to feed on human blood—it was quite specific about species, to the chagrin of many vampires—an aversion to certain apotropaic vegetation (which was often thought to also ward of Mazoku; it didn't, but it worked on vampires), and staying out of sunlight.

It was an ancient curse, the origin of which had been forgotten even by Mazoku.

The fact that Zelgadis already had a complex curse on him… Well, that certainly made things a bit more complicated. While his stone skin normally protected him, it clearly hadn't from whatever effect the sun's rays had on vampires.

While Xellos was busy surveying the situation, Zelgadis stirred, his eyes sliding open and focusing slowly.

"X-Xellos?"

His voice was so weak it was almost just a breath.

Xellos crouched in front of him.

"You certainly have gotten yourself into a mess, haven't you?" he murmured. "Lina-san mentioned a vampire?"

Zelgadis sat up abruptly—or tried to; he didn't have the strength to get more than a quarter of the way into a sitting position before his body gave out on him.

"They shouldn't be here. Too dangerous."

His voice was hoarse, weak, and it occurred to Xellos that the chimera likely would die of dehydration before anything else.

"They aren't here," Xellos told him honestly. His frown deepened when Zelgadis sighed in relief. "Though Lina-san did ask me to find you. She seemed to be under the impression that you'd do something stupid, like trap yourself in a cave to die. I can't imagine why."

He had expected Zelgadis to get all indignant and huffy, like he could usually be counted on to do in these situations, but instead there was little reaction.

"Surely a little vampirism didn't make you suicidal?"

Zelgadis made a wheezing sound, and it took Xellos a moment to identify it as a bitter laugh. "Yes, more monster characteristics. Surely I would welcome being even less human." The chimera closed his eyes. "Go away and let me die in peace."

Xellos studied him, ignoring the request. "You really intend to let something like this get the better of you?"

At that, he did get a familiar glower. "Vampire, Xellos. It's not like that can be _undone_ any more than Rezo's damnable curse."

He hadn't realized the shaman had given up on the latter—based on the Red Priest's word alone—but that could be a conversation for later.

"Zelgadis-san, it seems to be affecting you differently. Do you crave blood?"

Zelgadis shook his head, his eyes more lucid than they had been since he'd stirred. "No… I don't know what it is. Just… hunger."

Xellos studied him, listening briefly to the continued calls of the demon—softer now that it felt his presence, but still there. He had a thought about what that hunger was, especially given the demon's reaction. But if it was impacting the human half as well…

"When was the last time you ate anything?" he finally asked.

Zelgadis managed a shrug. "Ran out of supplies a long time ago. Few days in. It didn't help the hunger."

From the look of things, and the general timeline Xellos had interpreted from Lina's story, that meant he likely hadn't eaten in nearly a month. Likely the only reason he was still alive was his inhuman aspects.

First things first; Xellos needed to determine whether the hunger was from his demon or human aspects or both, and the easiest way to do that was to feed the human aspect. His first inclination would normally be to take Zelgadis to a restaurant, but the chimera had been smart in keeping away from society.

After all, if it truly had affected his demon aspect… Well, that would certainly be disastrous, at least for the humans in the vicinity. And although that would be highly entertaining in many ways to Xellos… Well, it wasn't what he was after right now.

Xellos wasn't quite sure _what_ he was after.

He didn't dwell on it, and instead took a second to teleport to the restaurant where he had left Lina. She was, quite predictably, eating, and choked the moment she saw him. Instead of sticking around to answer questions he didn't have answers for, he took two of the heaping plates of food—ones that did not seem to have apotropaic foods—from the table and the pitcher of water and disappeared again.

He was likely going to have to see if the shaman reacted toward human blood at some point or another, but that could at least wait until the human side of him wasn't too hungry to differentiate hungers.

Zelgadis still lay where he had left him, though curled in on himself with the demon crying out louder than before.

Xellos nudged him with his toe, his hands full, and received only a soft groan in response. "Zelgadis-san—"

"Make it stop…" Zel whispered, his voice almost a whimper.

Xellos sat beside him. "I'm working on it."

He set one of the plates in front of Zel's face on the cave floor and waited him to notice—he had actually expected he'd have noticed right away, but he supposed with a ravenous demon screaming inside of him he was distracted.

It only took a few seconds, and then the chimera was leaning over the dish, shoveling food into his mouth like a man who hadn't eaten in weeks—which, of course, he was. Fortunately, Xellos had chosen dishes that _didn't_ contain bones, and so Zelgadis didn't choke.

He set the other down when the shaman had nearly finished the first, and wasn't surprised when that was pounced immediately as well.

The hunger that was making the demon scream wasn't abating; Xellos could feel that much. Which meant the next thing to try would be human blood. Something a bit trickier to get, since it involved a donation of the voluntary or involuntary-to-fatal kind.

The easiest option was returning to Lina, and so Xellos set the pitcher down and did just that.

She was eating dessert by that point—or at least one of many—and Xellos was tempted to steal one, but he didn't really need it and if he brought it to Zelgadis it would likely make him sick. Once he had convinced her he needed it for Zelgadis-san and promised he would not use any of it for any other purpose, she had given him a small amount of her blood.

Zelgadis was sipping directly from the water pitcher when he returned, leaning against the wall, in a sitting position. He looked marginally better.

But the demon was still screaming, and it was clear the shaman could sense it, and it was bothering him immensely.

Xellos handed him the cup wordlessly, and Zelgadis immediately brought it to his lips—likely expecting coffee. He gagged as soon as the blood touched his lips, retching slightly before he caught himself and forced the urge to vomit back.

"What the _hell_, Xellos?"

The Mazoku smiled brightly. "Well, it's clear you don't hunger for blood now, isn't it?"

"You're an unbelievable bastard," Zelgadis muttered. "Where the hell did you get blood from?"

"Lina-san donated it, voluntarily. I'll have to let her know you found it disgusting. She'll be flattered, I'm sure."

Zelgadis bristled, but Xellos didn't give him a chance to respond.

"The interesting thing about this is you were bitten by a vampire, and yet you don't hunger for blood. And it _is_ your demon third that's hungry; the way it's screaming gives that away."

From the look on the chimera's face, he hadn't known that tidbit. Obviously he had been ignorant of the reason behind his discomfort. But then realization flickered across his features.

"Then… The vampire bite. It didn't affect _me_."

Xellos shook his head. "It did. The demon is currently a part of you, one of your aspects, whether you like it or not. So what hurts it, hurts you."

Zel grimaced. "So what is _it_ hungry for?"

Xellos gave him a moment, carefully schooling his face into an expression that screamed _You're a moron, but I'll be polite and not point it out vocally_.

From the look on Zelgadis' face, he got the point. "So, negative emotions. Destruction. Death. Doesn't it get enough depression from me?"

"It can't feed off itself, Zelgadis-san."

"I'm supposed to _feed_ it by hurting other people, then?"

"Well, that would certainly be the easiest way to handle this situation. You'll likely opt for a hard way."

The shaman seemed incapable of deciding, for a moment, whether to be angry or curious. "_Are_ there hard ways?"

"Beyond the one you were trying for?" Xellos smiled his best shit-eating smile, and Zelgadis huffed irritably. "Given that it's affecting the demon… there may be ways."

There were certainly other ways, but Xellos had to decide whether he wanted to undertake them. The hunger of the demon could be sated without any death or even too much destruction if one knew how—if, say, one had spent a thousand years cultivating one's methods. However, even if transferring the curse would work, crippling himself with an extra drain, even one that was as pathetic as a vampire's hunger, would be ludicrous.

But he already knew Zelgadis would never use his methods. He had, after all, been very clear about his desire to not be a monster, and in effect that was what he would become if he had to feed his demon aspect. The chimera had made it very clear what his chosen way of dealing with that would be.

And for some reason, the thought was not pleasing to Xellos.

"What ways?" Zelgadis asked.

The hope was painfully evident in his voice as well as his emotions; clearly he wasn't really ready to die, even if he'd be a self-sacrificing idiot if he thought it necessary.

Xellos was silent for a moment before he decided. It was possible he could destroy the curse before it transferred.

"Give the curse to someone else."

Zelgadis stared at him for a moment before laughing harshly. "Vampires don't stop being vampires when they bite someone, you idiot. And I wouldn't wish _this_ on anyone else any more than I'd wish Rezo's curse on someone else."

Really, he should have expected this; for some reason, Zelgadis was never inclined to trust his judgment.

"It may be possible to transfer it to _me_," he clarified. "After all, it is your demon aspect, not all of you. The curse may not be fully attached to you because of your unique make-up."

The shaman stared at him for a moment. "So I'm supposed to give _you_ more of a desire for destruction? Explain how that's good for the world."

"If you would rather attempt to kill yourself, be my guest," Xellos murmured testily—he had no intention of explaining himself to Zelgadis. He would manipulate him somehow, but he was irritated he needed to. "But I would have to tell Lina-san."

Zelgadis' glare was one of the strongest he'd ever turned on Xellos. "You wouldn't."

"She was the one who asked me to find you, Zelgadis-san. Hence her donation of blood. She would track me down again if I didn't give her some news."

His emotions and the way he slumped slightly told Xellos he was giving in even before he spoke. "So what do I do? It can't be as simple as biting you."

This was likely going to be the most difficult thing to convince him of. The only way Xellos could really _touch_ the chimera's demon aspect was, well, during intimacy. And although he had successfully seduced Zelgadis early in their acquaintance—before he had been outed as a Mazoku by Gaav—Zel had made it very clear afterward that it was never happening again. And despite his needling, it hadn't.

"There would have to be a _transfer_," Xellos finally replied, drawing the word out meaningfully.

The way Zel's mouth dropped open made it clear he understood his meaning. But Xellos was completely unprepared for the accusation that followed.

"You set all this up, didn't you?" Zelgadis' face was turned down, his expression hidden by his hair, but Xellos could feel his distrust. "The whole thing, one of your ploys, you bastard!"

Xellos was taken aback. He hadn't ever expected Zelgadis would assume he would do something like _that_, although he had been plenty manipulative in the time Zelgadis had known him—by necessity. Being accused of setting a vampire on him… that was too much.

"You're being ridiculous, Zelgadis-san," the Mazoku said harshly. "I have far better things to do than waste my time. Either you want to try this, or you don't. It may not even work—in which case, I have no other ideas."

There was silence for a while, Zelgadis' emotions swirling, the demon's cry starting to rise in pitch again as it realized although the human aspect was no longer hungry, it was. The chimera made a pained sound.

"So it might not even work." Zel's voice was heavy. "Why are you willing to do this, anyway? I've always known I'm _expendable_. I'm not Lina."

"You are hardly expendable, Zelgadis-san." That was the extent of what Xellos was willing to say.

Zelgadis finally lifted his head slightly, enough to allow him to survey Xellos through the fringe of his metallic hair.

"On one condition," Zelgadis finally said. Xellos raised a questioning eyebrow. "If it doesn't work, you… end this. I don't care what you tell Lina, as long as I'm dead by the time she gets here."

That, of course, meant Xellos couldn't fail. He was really going to have to do something about Zelgadis' rather grating existential angst.

He answered in action, pulling the shaman to him by the collar and kissing him.

It progressed predictably from there, almost as it had the first time. Zelgadis' shyness when Xellos pulled at his clothing. The exploration of the chimera's body, with similar results—his reactions starting off more muted, more hesitantly than the first time, but quickly becoming more powerful.

For Xellos, it was almost disappointing that there was a _reason_ he was doing it this time, when the first time it had been for his own pleasure, but when Zelgadis arched under him and cried out when the Mazoku pushed into him, he stopped caring about the reason and decided to focus on enjoying it.

As Xellos pushed Zelgadis closer and closer, taking it slowly, making it last since he sincerely doubted the chimera would let him do this again. He was determined to make this last as long as possible.

But he also had that reason to focus on, and so while he fucked Zelgadis relentlessly, he focused on the shaman's demon aspect, reaching out to it, feeling for it.

And he could feel the curse, could sense the ragged, draining tendrils of it trying to burrow into the brau demon. It wasn't able to, ironically blocked by the _golem_ third, which kept it from attaching completely.

It could be removed, could be taken from Zelgadis entirely. Better than that, Xellos could destroy it, wouldn't have to absorb it.

But it needed to be detached first.

Xellos could feel Zelgadis nearing orgasm, and he leaned in close until his projection's shoulder was to the shaman's mouth, whispered in his ear, "Bite me now."

Zelgadis shuddered at the sound of his voice, but had enough sense to obey. A split second later came, biting down harder and piercing the faux flesh.

The Mazoku kept moving, focused on the vampire curse, grabbed it when it tried to infect him. It tried to struggle, tried to latch onto him anyway, tentacles of power searching for a point to enter him. Before it could, Xellos yanked it from Zel's demon aspect and into the Astral plane, where it was easy for him to destroy it with merely a thought.

Then, and only then, did he let the pleasure of being inside Zelgadis, with his tight body clenching around him rhythmically, nearing the end of orgasm, pull him to his own sort of orgasm.

When he had recovered, he realized Zelgadis was passed out against him—unsurprising given his condition, how exhausted seemed—and he took a little while to enjoy the feel of the chimera's body, caressing him lightly, before he cleaned him up as best he could.

His demon aspect was blessedly quiet.

Now that Zelgadis was no longer under the vampire's curse, Xellos would take him to Lina. She would help him recover.

Later Xellos would check up on him. Much later, preferably after the Mazoku had figured out exactly _why_ he was so obsessed with the chimera, had controlled this desire to _have_ him.

He didn't know how long that would take.

* * *

This was really difficult to write. I don't know why. Probably the fact that it took six pages of setup. I really should've just jumped right into it. Ah, well.

Written for the Springkink prompt: Slayers - Xellos and Zelgadis - One of them gets bit by a vampire, and it is up to the other to cast spells, etc to cure them, the cures should be sexual, of course.


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